SPAR Spain invests in the growth and modernisation of its store network

Over the last few months, SPAR Spain has opened a string of new stores and invested in the refurbishment of two existing supermarkets. The new and refurbished stores have helped to strengthen the SPAR Partner’s offering, broadening its retail network and bringing an improved shopping experience to customers.

New store openings

SPAR Spain enjoyed growth in its store network of 2,800m² between April and June this year. This expansion has been carried out by five SPAR Spain Partners on the islands as well as on the mainland. The new state-of-the-art supermarkets offer convenience to customers, meeting the diverse needs of both local and foreign shoppers.

Grupo Upper, the SPAR Partner in the province of Alicante, has opened two new SPAR stores close to the important provincial cities of Los Montesinos and Santa Pola. The Montesinos SPAR which is 600m2 in size has been welcomed by shoppers. It has a wide range of high quality products as well as a butchery, bakery, deli and fresh fish counter. This new SPAR’s seven employees provide friendly, personal service and the product range offers great value-for-money. In Santa Pola, Grupo Upper has introduced a 150m² SPAR City store, run by four employees. It has a butchery section, a self-service deli area, as well as fresh fruit & veg, and baked goods.

SPAR Gran Canaria, the only supermarket chain with a presence in all 21 municipalities on the island, has opened a new 200m² SPAR store in the municipality of Artenara, where it now has a total of 178 SPAR Supermarkets and almost 3,000 SPAR employees. The new store has a wide assortment of own brand food ranges, a great fresh produce section and also offers a home delivery service. The new opening is an important milestone for SPAR Gran Canaria, increasing its presence on the island and making fresh produce from the mainland more readily available to customers, whilst also contributing to the advancement of the local retail sector.

Ignacio De Las Cuevas, the SPAR licence holder in the provinces of La Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra, has recently opened two new SPAR Express stores in the towns of Maceda (200m²) and Baltar (150m²). The new stores offer a range of 2,000 products, including SPAR Own Brand. Both have butchery sections, deli counters and fresh produce departments.

On the island of Tenerife, SPAR Partner, Agrucan S.L., has opened a new SPAR Supermarket in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The new SPAR is located in the Terranova shopping mall, about 100 meters from a popular sport centre. This new SPAR store of 250m² is open every day of the week, including Sundays, from 8:30 to 21:00. All departments are self-service, except for the ice cream and Food-to-Go counters, which offer a wide variety of international food choices to cater for the mainly foreign customers. The store offers its customers a broad assortment with more than 4,000 products, as well as a terrace where they can enjoy their ice cream and take away food. The investment in the store was around €300,000, and the sales target for the first year is €1.2 million.

Fragadis, the SPAR Spain Partner in the Provinces of Tarragona, Lérida, Castellón and Aragón, opened two SPAR Supermarkets in Tarragona in the second half of June. The first is a 400m² SPAR in the coastal town of Cambrils, close to a popular camping site. The store´s up-to-date design has enhanced the shopping experience for customers with many having expressed their satisfaction, in particular with the meat, deli, fish and fresh produce departments. The second opening was of a EUROSPAR in a new building in La Riera de Gaià. With this new large format supermarket, a focus has been placed on energy efficiency and a broad product range. SPAR Own Brand ranges feature strongly along with top-quality leading brands.

Store refurbishments

Two SPAR stores have been revamped on the island of Gran Canaria – one in the capital, Las Palmas and the other in the town of Valsequillo. Both stores now enjoy a bright modern design and offer an improved shopping experience for customers, making use of new technologies in energy efficiency.

The Las Palmas SPAR store has increased in size. It has wider aisles and makes better use of space with vertical refrigerators. LED lighting has been installed throughout the store, resulting in significant energy savings. Product information screens in each section and touch screens at the checkout counters, make shopping faster and easier for customers. The food offer has also been expanded with the incorporation of a new area for prepared meals. Special attention has been given to the inclusion of organic food ranges and products for customers with special dietary needs.

In Valsequillo, the revamped SPAR store showcases new services and ranges. It covers almost 300m² and has a bright and modern interior design, equipped with vertical refrigerators and energy saving technologies. The 13 employees celebrated the store in style with a great paella feast for customers who have warmly welcomed the newly renovated store.

SPAR Spain was founded in 1959 as a result of the coming together of a group of wholesalers who wished to be part of an international organisation. The brand became the first voluntary trading chain to be established in Spain. The Head Office is located in Barcelona, providing Buying, Marketing, Communication and Brand support to the licensed partners.